bguews bguin.bgu.ac.il/en/bguandyou/summer2008.pdf · 2011. 2. 17. · newsletter of ben-gurion...

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I Hubert Burda Prizesfor InnovationAwarded

I Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Receives Honorary Professorship

I Marvin KalbReceives Robert St. JohnAward

I 38th Annual Board ofGovernors Meeting Marks the 60th Anniversary of Israel

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Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Microsoft’s R&D Center in Israel have announced that they recently signed an agreement of strategic cooperation. Within this framework, outstanding computer science students will complete internships with Microsoft Israel at an “Innovation Lab,” which is focused on hands-on practical research. The announcement was made by BGU President

Prof. Rivka Carmi and Yoram Yaacovi, CTO and General Manager of Microsoft’s R&D Center, at the opening ceremony of the University’s Annual Project Day, organized by the Faculty of Engineering Sciences.

Microsoft has created six similar facilities in the United States. This is the first lab of its kind to operate outside of the US. The Lab will be located at the

Microsoft R&D center in Haifa.

Speaking at the ceremony, Yaacovi, explained that the company will select 12 outstanding students each year as interns. As part of the agreement Microsoft and University researchers will carry out joint projects. There will be seminars and professional conferences during

the year, and the students will participate in Microsoft’s innovation competitions. Dr. Ronen Brafman, a member of the University’s Department of Computer Sciences, will supervise the University’s involvement in this initiative.

BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi noted that the University teaches around 20 percent of the students in the country in hi-tech fields and sees the expansion

I Microsoft Israel Announces Creation ofJoint “Innovation Labs” with Ben-Gurion University

of these fields in the Negev as a national mission. “BGU is the second largest educational institution in the country training engineers, second only to the Technion,” she said, lamenting the fact that today, the vast majority of graduates leave the Negev. She detailed the University’s involvement in developing an Advanced Technologies Park adjacent to the Marcus Family Campus.

Remarking on the agreement, Deputy-Rector Prof. Yael Edan said: “Co-operation with Microsoft’s R&D Center is the right way of ensuring that the best brains remain in Israel.” Moshe Lichtman, Corporate Vice-President and President of Microsoft Israel R&D added:“We believe that cooperation with academia as a technological model is positive and enriching to both sides. Cooperation with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev allows outstanding students a direct path to the heart of the technological achievements in the world market, whilst coping with real challenges.”

President Prof. Rivka Carmi and CTO Yoram Yaacovi of Microsoft’s R&D Center


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Thirteen graduating engineering students received the Hubert Burda Prize for Innovation at a ceremony marking the opening of the University’s annual Projects Day. Traditionally a showcase for fourth-year students from the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, this year the event was broadened to include projects from the Faculties of Natural and Health Sciences and from the Department of Psychology.

Managing Director of Marketing & Communications at Hubert Burda Media Stephanie Czerny represented the renowned German publisher Dr. Hubert Burda at the ceremony. The opening session also included greetings from CTO and General Manager of the Innovation Labs, R&D Technologies of Microsoft-Israel, Yoram Yaacovi; the CEO of Polymer Logistics, Zvi Yemini; and the Director of Development of

I Hubert Burda Prizes for Innovation Awarded

Freescale, Udi Barel. A number of Israel’s leading industrialists and entrepreneurs, including Dr. Joseph (Yossi) Vardi and Sammy Sagol, were also present at the event.

The newly-created Burda Prize is the brainchild of Dr. Burda,

Publisher and Chairman of the Board of Hubert Burda Media. “Dr. Burda understands Israeli innovation and the promise of our younger people and decided that this is the right investment into the future of this small country,” declared BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi at the opening session.“This is why it is significant that these prizes have been created this year, as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel,” she said.

According to the University citation, the students were recognized, for “their intellectual creativity and technological innovation which will advance future research and development of the world.”

Stephanie Czerny congratulates Evgeny Berger and Marina Gitelman, recipients of the Burda Prize for Innovation

The 13 recipients are the innovators of nine different projects, one from each department in the Faculty of Engineering Sciences.

The winners were as follows: Marina Gitelman and Evgeny Berger, Information Systems Engineering; Daphna Volsky, Nuclear Engineering; Pamela Oren and Ophir Artzi, Communication Systems Engineering; Mor Peleg and Guy Dabah, Biomedical Engineering; Yiftach Barash, Biotechnology Engineering; Eitan Yair, Structural Engineering; Daniel Reisner, Mechanical Engineering; Tamar Yelin, Chemical Engineering; Talia Gazit and Roni Shascham, Industrial Engineering and Management.

Students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering with one of their advisers, Dr. Amir Shapiro (second from right)

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Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, recently received an honorary professorship from the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research (BIDR). He was honored for his instrumental role in reaching agreements on scientific-technical cooperation between the European Union and the State of Israel and between Germany and Israel.

“Since the founding of the Blaustein Institutes, our researchers have had strong ties with the scientific community of the Federal Republic of Germany in almost all the disciplines, from desert architecture to water, algal-biotechnology and solar energy,” noted Director

Prof. Avigad Vonshak, who moderated the event.

As a former minister for education, science, research and technology in Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s Cabinet in the 1990s, Rüttgers negotiated the agreement under which Israel was able to benefit from EU research support programs. He has also actively promoted German-Israeli bilateral scientific research and development projects, particularly in the areas of oceanography and water technology.

Rüttgers has strongly supported collaborative research projects between researchers in the region as a way to promote

greater understanding and coexistence. Noting that North Rhine-Westphalia has been running an exchange program for Israeli students since 2004, Rector Prof. Jimmy Weinblatt said, “It is my privilege to honor a person with not only the vision of the importance of globalization of education, but who also takes action to bring about active cooperation of the exchange of knowledge, researchers and students.”

In his address at the Sede Boqer ceremony, Dr. Rüttgers called for the expanding of German-Israeli scientific cooperation “beyond research and development.” He said that he was encouraged by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s call for even closer links

between Israel and the European Union in her speech to the Knesset in March.“I would like to see Israel having a ‘privileged relationship’ with the EU. We are working towards this and have concrete proposals,” the Minister-President stated. According to the University citation for the honorary professorship, Rüttgers was recognized for his “many laudable accomplishments in education, science, research and technology as Federal Cabinet Minister and as Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia; in deep appreciation of a sincere and devout friend of the Jewish people and the State of Israel, who has encouraged Christian-Jewish dialogue, and who embodies the warm relationship and cooperation between Germany and Israel, in the spirit of Konrad Adenauer and David Ben-Gurion; in gratitude for his steadfast continuing support of the long standing relationship between the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Ben-Gurion University, as established by former President of Germany, Johannes Rau; and in recognition of his deeply-held belief in the power of science and education to improve our world and as a vehicle to promote mutual understanding, peace and coexistence in the Middle East and beyond.”

I Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Receives Honorary Professorship

L to R: Prof. Avigad Vonshak, Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers and Rector Prof. Jimmy Weinblatt



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Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, recognized Prof. Rivka Carmi as a “Woman of Distinction” at a moving ceremony held in June. The event took place at the Knesset in Jerusalem, in the presence of Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, MK Amira Dotan, Hadassah

National President Nancy Falchuk and former Deputy President of the Supreme Court and State Comptroller Miriam Ben-Porat.

“Life takes place in cycles,” said Prof. Carmi in her remarks, recalling how she started her studies at as a

I Prof. Rivka Carmi Honored by Hadassah

doctor 38 years earlier at the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem. “I have closed the circle in my medical work with sadness and joyfully opened another large circle of work of another kind for the good of the State of Israel,” she said. “Theoretically, the investment that Hadassah made in me has been lost, but in fact it has received a large dividend because actually, I am continuing to realize the vision of the Hadassah Women’s Organization to work for ‘the development of the State of Israel and to meet its changing needs’.”

In the official announcement detailing the decision, the organization noted that“Prof. Rivka Carmi is the first woman ever to head an Israeli university. A graduate of Hadassah Medical School, she first made history in the year

2000 when she became the first woman in Israel to head a medical school at BGU. A pediatrician and geneticist, Carmi has studied the genetic diseases of the Bedouin. One of her discoveries, a rare congenital skin disorder, is called the Carmi Syndrome. She also founded an educational organization to help Bedouin women.”

At the same ceremony, Hadassah, the Jewish world’s largest membership organization and America’s largest women’s organization, also recognized two Israel Prize laureates: Prof. Anita Shapira for her ground-breaking work defining the study of Zionism and actress Orna Porat for her work both on and off stage, as the “grande dame” of Israeli theater and the pioneer of children’s theater in Israel.

Prof. Rivka Carmi admires the glass plaque while Marlene Post, former National President of Hadassah, reads the text.

A discovery that could prove to be a milestone on the road to the development of a quantum computer was made by Prof. Boris Tsukerblat from the Department of Chemistry and is described in an article published in a recent edition of the prestigious journal, Nature. A quantum computer could solve certain problems much faster than any of our

current classical computers, explains Tsukerblat. “Whereas a classical computer has a memory made up of bits, where each bit holds either a ‘one’ or a ‘zero’, a quantum computer encodes information at the nanoscale in a sequence of qubits (quantum binary digits).

The development of the quantum computer is hindered by ‘decoherence,’ or

I Magnets with Staying Power ‘forgetfulness’ of the encoded information.” The challenge, he concludes, lies in exploring the reasons for forgetfulness and how to remedy the problem.

The article, “Quantum oscillations in a molecular magnet,” reports unprecedented results on the basis of a magnetic molecule containing vanadium and oxygen atoms which can

act as a carrier of quantum information.

The research was carried out through the interdisciplinary collaboration of three groups: Bielefeld University of Bielefeld, Germany; Institut Neel of Grenoble, France and Ben-Gurion University, with the support of the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF).


Prof. Zeev Zachor, President of Sapir College near Sderot and a member of the University’s Department of Jewish History, received the Herzl Award

I Prof. Zeev Zachor Honored recently in recognition of his “exemplary Zionist spirit,” from the City of Herzilya. At the awards ceremony, Mayor Yael German lauded Zachor’s

courage and determination as an educator committed to providing higher education to students regardless of daily rocket attacks from Gaza on

the College and his leadership during these difficult times. The judges noted that he is “an outstanding example of the Zionist enterprise.”

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Award-winning news commentator Marvin Kalb received the Robert St. John Chair for Objective Middle East Reporting in June. At the ceremony, University President Prof. Rivka Carmi noted that Kalb “follows in the tradition of veteran journalist Robert St. John – combining first-hand quality reporting from Washington and around the globe with the kind of intelligent commentary that defines a first-class observer of human nature.”

In his talk titled, “The Next American President and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” Kalb predicted that Barak Obama will win the US election in November, noting that this year the electorate is interested in ABB, “anyone but Bush.” He dismissed accusations that Obama as president would be, “bad for Israel” and encouraged members of the audience to see

what Obama wrote in his first book. “In it, he describes Israel as ‘sacrosanct’ and he means it. Both Democrats and Republicans will support Israel to the hilt. Both also want an agreement. It is part of the American platform.” It is not, he emphasized, that John McCain doesn’t care about the Israeli-Palestinian issue, it is simply that “he will be too preoccupied with Iraq, the war that the Republicans have committed themselves ‘to not losing’.”

Kalb is the incumbent of the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice, Emeritus at Harvard University. His distinguished journalism career encompasses 30 years of award-winning reporting for CBS and NBC News, as Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, Moscow Bureau Chief, and host of Meet the Press. Among his many accomplishments, he was recipient of the 2006 National Press Club Fourth Estate Award. Kalb has authored or coauthored 10 nonfiction books and two best-selling novels. He hosts the Kalb Report, a discussion of media ethics and responsibility at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and is a regular contributor to Fox television and National Public Radio.

The Robert St. John Chair for Objective Middle East Reporting honors the memory of a journalist and prolific author who wrote 23 books and worked for many news organizations. He wrote eight books about the Middle East, including well-reviewed biographies of David Ben-Gurion and Gamel Abdel

I Marvin Kalb Receives Robert St. John Award

Nasser. He was dubbed the “Dean” of the foreign press corps in Israel during Operation Galilee in Lebanon in 1982 – the fifth conflict he had covered in the region.St. John traveled the world, carrying out research for the World Book Encyclopedia and making radio broadcasts.

According to President Carmi, Robert St. John “wanted to provide Israelis with the opportunity to hear how Israel and her neighbors are perceived by the foreign press. Therefore, he decided to help us here at BGU by providing an ongoing invitation to hear from these journalists as visiting lecturers under the auspices of the chair in his name.”

“I knew Robert St. John well,” recalled Kalb, after the presentation of the scroll. “I was at his 80th and 90th birthday parties and at the ceremony in Washington [St. John’s 100th birthday] when this chair was inaugurated.”

To see the lecture online, click to mms://karish.bgu.ac.il/bgu-academic/tekes.wmv

Marvin Kalb


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“I have an almost 20 year long relationship with this University,” asserted Zach Ngalo Otieno-Ayayo, who came especially from Kenya to receive his Ph.D. from the Kreitman School of Advanced Graduate Studies at a festive graduation ceremony in June. “I originally came to BGU to do guided research on an International Atomic Energy Agency fellowship program in 1989-90, but in the end, I came back to do my Ph.D. because of the excellent research and supportive atmosphere.” Ngalo Otieno-Ayayo is one of a record 155 students who received their doctorate degrees this year. His doctorate thesis, written for the Department of Life Sciences at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, focused on biological methods for mosquito control. “Malaria

I Graduates for the Future

is one of Africa’s greatest problems, so it is critical that new methods are found to control the mosquitoes that carry the disease,” he explained. “Hopefully, I will be able to continue my research in Africa in collaboration with Israeli researchers.” Today he heads the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Eastern Africa in Baraton Kenya, where he also serves as chairman of the University’s Research Committee. According to Dean of the Kreitman School Prof. Ramy Brustein, this has been a significant year for advanced degree studies at the University, as a direct result of the administration’s ongoing efforts to invest in advanced research. “We have committed energy and resources to make BGU competitive with the

best research universities in the world,” he explained, “as part of the University’s policy to attract the highest caliber graduate students, including Masters and Ph.D. candidates.” The creation of the Negev Fellowships, to complement the prestigious Kreitman Foundation and Pratt Fellowships, he noted, has given the University the power to attract an increasing number of outstanding doctoral students. The number of incoming doctoral degree candidates at BGU rose from 273 students last year to 313 this year.

Two weeks later, some 5,229 undergraduate and graduate students received their degrees in two consecutive ceremonies, breaking down as follows: 1,633 Masters degrees, 3,431 Bachelors degrees and 165 teaching certificates. The

majority of graduates are from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences – 2,044, including recipients of teaching certificates. There were 1,153 graduates from the Faculty of Engineering Sciences; 856 from the Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management; 575 from the Faculty of Natural Sciences; 548 from the Faculty of Health Sciences and 53 from the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research.

In May, 74 new medical doctors received their M.D. degrees from the Joyce and Irving Goldman Medical School at the Faculty of Health Sciences and 23 from the Medical School for International Health in collaboration with the Columbia University Medical Center.

Zach Ngalo Otieno-Ayayo from the Department of Life Sciences receives his diploma from Prof. Rivka Carmi, while (from left) the Dean of the Kreitman School for Advanced Graduate Studies Prof. Ramy Brustein, Rector Prof. Jimmy Weinblatt and Dean of the Facutly of Natural Sciences Prof. Abraham Parola look on.


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The Marcus Family Campus came alive with more than 300 guests from Israel and around the world who came to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel at the 38th Annual Board of Governors Meeting between May 25-28, 2008. The four-day Meeting offered Board members and guests an opportunity to engage with students and faculty members while learning more about the University’s accomplishments. A number of special events marked important milestones in the development of the University, as highlighted on these pages.

Board members participated in the important business of the committee meetings with presentations by the University’s senior administration, academic faculty and students, all of whom outlayed the year’s accomplishments and their future plans. At the Finance Affairs Committee, the Vice-President and Director-

I 38th Annual Board of Governors Meeting Marks the 60th Anniversary of Israel

General David Bareket and his team detailed the financial constraints of the University and sister institutions in Israel, the troubling fiscal consequences of the 90-day faculty strike at the beginning of the academic year and ongoing draconian governmental budget cuts while weathering the repercussions of the volatility of world markets and a weakened dollar.

Rector Prof. Jimmy Weinblatt, the Vice-President and Dean for R&D Prof. Moti Herskowitz

and Faculty Deans outlined the ramifications of government policies at the Academic Development Committee, while proudly announcing a number of newly-established prestigious programs. They outlined efforts to develop new international academic ties and the considerable strides being made in advancing the University’s research agenda. This includes the ability to offer competitive start-up packages based on scientific merits and the results of a successful recruitment policy of some of the best and brightest young researchers.

At the Student Affairs Committee, members of the Student Association eloquently reminded the Governors of the impact of two strikes and the Second Lebanon War upon their studies over the past three years and detailed their extensive activities to enrich student life throughout the University. The Associates Affairs Committee included presentations by the Vice-President for External Affairs Prof. Amos Drory, who highlighted a record year in the magnitude of support of BGU friends, and a fascinating presentation

The Finance Affairs Committee: (l-r) Vice-President and Director-General David Bareket; President Prof. Rivka Carmi; Co-Chair Micha Dapht, Israel; Co-Chair Eric Charles, UK; Chairman of the Board Roy J. Zuckerberg

L-R: Representatives of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Dr. Lars Hansel, and of the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation,Yair Torenheim, and Prof. Rivka Carmi unveil new names on Ben-Gurion Wall for 2008

Friends from Philadelphia meet with faculty members at the festive opening dinner, including Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences Prof. Yigal Ronen (back row, far left) and Vice-President for External AffairsProf. Amos Drory (far right)



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by new University campaign consultant John Gleir, who analyzed the current fundraising environment for academic institutions in the United States and around the world. During ceremonies at the Ben-Gurion Wall and the Founders Wall, worldwide Associates were recognized for their individual support of the University, in the presence of family and friends. Members of the Ben-Gurion Society were presented with a special scroll marking the 60th anniversary of Israel that lauded their

jazz ensemble. The event was sponsored by Dorian Goldman and Marvin Israelow, New York, NY; Alex Goren, New York, NY; Ben and Arline Guefen, Houston, TX; Fred and Marlene Levinson, San Francisco, CA; Joel Reinstein, Boca Raton, FL; Carol and Dr. Harry Saal, Palo Alto, CA; and Max and Marjorie Schechner, West Newton, MA, on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of BGU’s American Associates.

The Opening Plenary Session of the Board included welcoming remarks by

Chairman of the BoardRoy J. Zuckerberg and annual reports by both University President Prof. Rivka Carmi and Rector Jimmy Weinblatt. The keynote address was given by the internationally-acclaimed Israeli writer and BGU professor Amos Oz, incumbent of the S.Y. Agnon Chair in Contemporary Hebrew Literature established by the German Associates. Six outstanding researchers received the President’s Prize for Outstanding Scientific Achievement, saluting the international and national accomplishments of the University’s exceptional scientists during the nation’s 60th anniversary.

Changing venues to University’s Sede Boqer Campus, participants were given a unique view of practical coexistence in a presentation titled “Creating an Environment for Peace,” moderated by Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research Director Prof. Avigad Vonshak. Member of the BIDR faculty Prof. Alon Tal described “A Model Agreement for Environmental Cooperation,”

38th Annual Board of Governors Meeting (con’d)

contribution to BGU and the Negev. The text acknowledged the University’s appreciation of its “magnanimous friends and supporters who have committed themselves to the advancement of knowledge and scholarly research as part of the greater development of the Negev region and the State of Israel.”

The Student Association hosted its fun-filled Student Evening, impressing guests with the musical and dancing talent of the student body, which includes the Zlotowski Dance Troupe and a student

On Monday night guests enjoyed a special multi-media performance in Park Golda in Ramat HaNegev

Members of the Departments of Hebrew Literature and Jewish History were on hand to celebrate 60 years of Israeli culture with performing artists and writers: (l-r) Etgar Keret, Prof. Haviva Pedaya, Nidaa Khoury, Prof. Nissim Calderon and musical artist Yehudit Ravitz


in the enthralling “A Showcase of the Humanities: From the Heart – Israeli Culture in Context.”

Moderated by Prof. Nissim Calderon of the Department of Hebrew Literature and a central figure in cultural studies in Israel, the event featured readings and conversations with faculty

members Etgar Keret, one of today’s brightest young Hebrew writers; Nidaa Khoury, a brilliant bilingual Hebrew and Arabic poet, and Prof. Haviva Pedaya, a leading scholar in Jewish thought. Musical icon Yehudit Ravitz sang popular songs that are based on poems by famous Israeli poets. The musical group Ensemble Ha’Yona performed traditional Sephardic liturgical prayers with a modern beat.

Minister of Social Welfare Isaac Herzog was the guest of honor at “A Celebration of Community Intervention: Engaging the Mind and Soul – Academia in the Community,” which commemorated

the 25th anniversary of the Charlotte B. and Jack J. Spitzer Department of Social Work and the 30th anniversary of BGU’s trailblazing Open Apartments Program. In an inspiring speech at the event, Herzog praised the Department as “dynamic, vibrant and innovative.” Moderated by Chairman of the Spitzer Department

of Social Work Prof. Alean Alkrenawi, the event included presentations by faculty members and students. Guests were able to meet with some of the students involved in the Open Apartments Program at a special lunch in honor of the program following the event.

Martin Landau (left) with Prof. Sammy Boussiba at the dedication of the Landau Family Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratory in Sede Boqer

Dr. Natan Aridan of the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism talks to the guests the gravesite of Paula and David Ben-Gurion

Chairman of the Executive Committee David Brodet at the Second Plenary Session of the Board Meeting

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of the Laboratory Prof. Sammy Boussiba.

Dr. Natan Aridan of the Ben-Gurion Research Institute made a poignant presentation at the gravesite of Paula and David Ben-Gurion that focused on David Ben-Gurion and

emphasized his critical role in the period leading up to the creation of the State of Israel 60 years ago.

Guests traveled northward in the direction of Beer-Sheva for a festive dinner celebrating the 60th anniversary of the State, which was held on the shores of the enchanting man-made lake in the beautiful Golda Park. The event, titled “Let There Be Life – L’haim!,” sponsored by Etty Luzzatto, Raya Strauss Bendror, Dov Tadmor and Chezy and Zehava Vered of the Israeli Friends of BGU, included a display of the University’s academic strengths according to the themes of the natural elements Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, which were accompanied by performers using sand, fire and water and a musical group from the Black Hebrew community of Dimona.

An intellectual and musical potpourri of local prose, poetry and music was presented by Israeli writers and members of the Departments of Hebrew Literature and Jewish History

a draft accord dealing with environmental issues shared between Israel and the Palestinians. Also on the program were Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian graduate students and alumni from the BIDR’s Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies.

Guests had an opportunity to tour the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism and the varied research laboratories at the Blaustein Institutes. The Landau Family Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratory was dedicated at a touching ceremony in the presence of Martin Landau, UK, and head

Prof. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji presents the Hyman and Irene Kreitman Annual Memorial Lecture



Prof. Daniel Kahneman delivers the Zlotowski Annual Lecture

To see more pictures from the Board Meeting, visit the online gallery:

h t t p : / / c m s p r o d . b g u . a c . i l / E n g / U n i t s / B o a r d

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38th Annual Board of Governors Meeting (cont’d)

Family and friends of Swiss businessman Abraham Ben David Ohayon were on hand for the dedication of the Abraham Ben David Ohayon Behavioral Sciences Complex. During the ceremony, special guest Nobel laureate Guest speaker Prof. Daniel Kahneman reminisced about his experiences at the young University. Later, in the sparkling new auditorium, Kahneman delivered the Zlotowski Annual Lecture: “Recent Revolutions in our View of the Mind,” in the presence of Suzanne Zlotowski, UK, and Adelene Zlotowski, UK.

Nobel Prize laureate in Physics Prof. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji of the Collège de France and the Ecole Normale Supérieure in France spoke to an enthusiastic audience on “Light and Matter: The Modernity of Einstein’s Ideas” at the Hyman and Irene Kreitman Annual Memorial Lecture.

On Tuesday, May 27, 2008, the University awarded six Honorary Doctoral Degrees, granted in recognition of the individuals’ distinguished contributions to science and humanity, as detailed in the official citations. The guest of honor was President of the Israel Academy of the Sciences and Humanities and Board member Prof. Menachem Ya’ari. This year’s recipients included Prof. Avishay Braverman, Israel; Prof. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, France; Baron David de Rothschild, France; Dr. Agnes Heller, Hungary/USA; Carol Saal, USA; Prof. Amos Oz, Israel.

At the Second Plenary Session of the Board Meeting, “Challenges for the Future,” led by the Chairman of the Executive Committee, David Brodet, members were able to review committee resolutions that focused on varying aspects of the government budget cuts and made a

special resolution concerning the academic boycott of Israel.

Following a moving presentation by BGU faculty members Dr. Orit Nuttman-Shwartz and Dr. Dror Zeevi, who shared their experiences about living and working in the Sderot area, the Board passed a formal resolution, “extending its concern to the residents of Sderot and other Western Negev settlements,” and called on “the government of the State of Israel to take proactive steps to provide for the security of all of its citizens.”

Family and friends of Ruth Flinkman of the United States gathered together for a moving dedication ceremony of the Stan Flinkman Foyer in the Henry and Anita Weiss Family Building for Advanced Research, moderated by Dr. Ron Folman of the Department of Physics. The family visited the unique Atom Chip Fabrication facility in the Henry and Anita Weiss Family Building for Advanced Research.

Eric F. and Lore Ross of the USA were present at the dedication of the Eric F. and Lore Ross Atrium for Community Action. At the dedication of the Eric F. and Lore Ross Lecture Hall in the Ruth and Heinz-Horst Deichmann Building for Health Professions, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences Prof. Shaul Sofer described some of the achievements of Faculty.

The exciting week came to a warm ending with a friendly evening of home hospitality by University faculty.

Ruth Flinkman and her sons and grandson (l-r, Lewis, Noah and Russell) visit the Atom Chip Fabrication facility


On the occasion of the 60th anniversary commemorating the establishment of the State of Israel, the President’s Prize for Outstanding Scientific Achievement was awarded to six exceptional researchers.

The honor recognized their accomplishments and role in helping to position Ben-Gurion University as a first class research university and for their considerable

I President’s Prize for Outstanding Scientific Achievement Awarded

contribution in promoting academia in Israel. The prizes were distributed during the Opening Plenary Session. The recipients are as follows: Prof. Yigal Meir, Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences; Prof. Joseph Kost, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences;Prof. Ron Dagan, Division of Infectious Diseases, Faculty

of Health Sciences; Prof. Yigal Schwartz, Department of Hebrew Literature, Pinchas Sapir Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; Prof. Ayala Malach Pines, Department of Business Administration, Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management; and Dr. Moshe Sagi, Department of Dryland Biotechnologies, the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research.

The scrolls read as follows: “The President’s Prize for Outstanding Scientific Achievement is hereby awarded to each of these outstanding individuals in recognition of their important achievements in research, their role in making Ben-Gurion University of the Negev a world-class academic institution and their significant contributions to the nation’s scientific accomplishments.”

From L-R: Dr. Moshe Sagi, Prof. Yigal Meir, Prof. Ayala Malach Pines, Prof. Rivka Carmi, Prof. Yigal Schwartz, Prof. Ron Dagan and Prof. Joseph Kost

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I The Gainesmobile

Lis Gaines, one of the founders and

former president of the American

Associates of BGU, inspects the spiffy

new “Gainesmobile” during the

Board of Governors Meeting.

The vehicle, which makes touring

the Marcus Family Campus a real

pleasure, was donated in Lis Gaines’

honor by her sister-in-law Carol

Nash Green. The Gainesmobile

is powered by electricity and can

comfortably ferry seven passengers.



The University conferred honorary doctoral degrees on six outstanding individuals in recognition of their accomplishments during the 38th Annual Board of Governors Meeting.

The degrees were granted in recognition of the individuals’ distinguished contributions to science and humanity. According to University President Prof. Rivka Carmi, “Regardless of the field we are acknowledging – be it human liberties, education, performing arts or the sciences

– this age-old ceremony at revered institutions around the world has always been about going above and beyond.” Rector Prof. Jimmy Weinblatt noted that each of the evening’s recipients “symbolize one or more facets of David Ben-Gurion’s visions” for the Negev and Israel, as detailed in the University’s citations quoted below:

MK Prof. Avishay Braverman received the doctoral degree “In heartfelt recognition of the fifth President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; a

former senior economist at the World Bank, who promoted economic development and worked to prevent hunger on four continents; with deep appreciation of a true visionary for his untiring efforts to develop the Negev and bring the periphery closer to the center, increasing accessibility of the disenfranchised to higher education and creating new economic horizons for all the residents of the region, including his inspired drive for the creation of the Advanced Technologies Park adjacent to the University; in

gratitude to a dynamic leader who successfully transformed BGU into a significant, world-class institution, providing a nurturing home and state-of-the-art facilities for thousands of researchers and students; to a former President who brought the University to fiscal stability and left an architectural legacy of beauty on campuses in Sede Boqer, Eilat and the Marcus Family Campus in Beer-Sheva; and to a Member of Knesset who actively promotes social justice and the development of the Negev and the Galilee and the advancement of science and higher education in Israel.”

Prof. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji received the doctoral degree “In recognition of one of the world’s greatest physicists of our times, a gifted and prolific scientist who has extended the frontiers of quantum mechanics and quantum optics, developing new theoretical and practical approaches to the study of the interaction between light and matter; in honor of a pioneer in the use of laser light to cool and trap atoms, providing scientists with new tools for conducting experimental research, revealing intriguing new insights that have paved the way for a wide range of future applications; in admiration of a man who has fearlessly and relentlessly spoken out against proposed boycotts of Israeli academia; in profound gratitude for his long-lasting friendship with

I Going Above and Beyond – Six HonoraryDoctoral Degrees Awarded

Back row (L to R): Prof. Amos Oz; Prof. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji; Baron David de Rothschild.Front row: Prof. Ágnes Heller; Carol Saal; Prof. Rivka Carmi; MK Prof. Avishay Braverman

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the State of Israel and efforts to advance scientific research in the region as a means of promoting peace; and in deep esteem of a member of the French Academy of Sciences and laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, amongst numerous other prestigious awards, and a dedicated teacher at the Collège de France and a researcher at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, whose lectures and books have inspired generations of young physicists to join in his scientific quest to unravel the secrets of our world for the benefit of all mankind.”

Baron David René James de Rothschild received the doctoral degree “In recognition of a distinguished banker, scion of an internationally-renowned business family and pillar of the French Jewish community; who, in continuing the 200-year tradition of the Rothschild family, has become the embodiment of trust, integrity and stability in the tumultuous world of international markets; in admiration for an Officer of the French Legion of Honor, who served for 18 years as mayor of the town of Pont L‘Evêque; in deep esteem for his selfless public service, leadership and commitment to numerous Jewish philanthropies, particularly on behalf of French Holocaust survivors; in gratitude to a loyal friend for his unflagging support of the Zionist vision and the State

of Israel, carrying on a family commitment of more than two centuries that is perpetuated in the names of the flourishing towns founded and nurtured by the Rothschild family; and in recognition of his efforts in advancing education and welfare, scientific research and higher education, encouraging those assets so crucial to the State of Israel – the future generations of scientists and scholars.”

Prof. Ágnes Heller received the doctoral degree “In recognition of an eminent philosopher, one of the founders of the “Budapest School,” who has been an model of personal and intellectual courage; in admiration of a Holocaust survivor who has dedicated her life to examining the moral and ethical issues of our lives, posing fundamental questions about history, culture, democracy and modernity; in appreciation of a woman who bravely withstood persecution by a totalitarian regime in her native Hungary, unwilling to compromise her independent thought and integrity; in acknowledgement of an award-winning scholar whose prolific body of work and teaching continues to inspire generations of students; in profound esteem for a person who did not hesitate to re-examine her ideas, never losing her belief in the spirit of man and the values of mutual responsibility and brotherhood which have found expression

in her support of the State of Israel.”

Prof. Amos Oz received the doctoral degree “In recognition of an acclaimed author and essayist, one of the foremost writers in contemporary Hebrew literature, who has brilliantly portrayed the complex reality of Israel with a critical eye and a loving heart and a belief in the capacity of literature as a bridge between people; to a master-craftsman who, in his works so filled with personal experiences and local landscapes – from Jerusalem and from the kibbutz, to Arad in the Negev desert – conveys how pain, love, fear and pity are universal experiences that resonate worldwide in over forty languages, touching the hearts of readers around the globe; in deep esteem for a committed Zionist and a tireless advocate for peace; in honor of a distinguished and prolific writer and a member of the Israel Academy of the Hebrew Language, among whose many prestigious awards are the 1998 Israel Prize for Literature and the 2005 Goethe Prize; in gratitude for his enthusiasm and desire over the years to dedicate his time to teaching, sharing his sensitivity and wisdom with his students and colleagues and nurturing young writers as a faculty member of the Department of Hebrew Literature and incumbent of the S.Y. Agnon Chair in Contemporary Hebrew

Literature established by the German Associates at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.”

Carol Saal received the doctoral degree “In honor of a true friend of Ben-Gurion University and a partner to its vision; in recognition of her initiatives in the world of hi-tech, the application of her entrepreneurial gifts to the social sector, her passionate advocacy of many worthy and important causes and the centrality of volunteerism as her life’s work; in deep esteem of her great contributions to Jewish education and community life as President of the Saal Family Foundation and her work heading Jewish organizations in California, spearheading support of medical research and higher education in the United States and Israel; in heartfelt gratitude for her tireless efforts on behalf of the University, including the advancement of promising young scientists and medical research and the establishment of the Dr. Harry and Carol Saal Auditorium in the Alon Building for Hi-Tech; and in recognition of the energetic commitment she brings to every position she holds, including her activities as a member of the Board of Governors and the Ben-Gurion Society and her dedicated leadership as President of the American Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.”

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I Two Professorial Chairs Inaugurated

Aaron Fish and his son Samuel

It was an international celebration as two professorial academic chairs were inaugurated during the Board Meeting, in the presence of both benefactors and their families: the Fish family of Montreal and the Scheller family of Philadelphia.

University Rector Prof. Jimmy Weinblatt praised the decision to create academic chairs as the core of the University’s endeavors and praised the two new incumbents, Prof. Mordechai Perl of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering Sciences andProf. Amos Drory of the Department of Business Management at the Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management.

Aaron Fish, a member of the University’s Board of Governors and the Montreal Executive of the Canadian Associates of BGU, was accompanied by his son Samuel. Through the Aaron

and Wally Fish Family Foundation, he and his wife support many cultural and medical institutions in Montreal and Israel. They have been involved with the University for a number of years, particularly in the area of engineering sciences, creating the Aaron Fish Scholarship Endowment Fund in 2001, designated for the support of Mechanical Engineering students.

Incumbent Prof. Mordechai Perl has been with Department of Mechanical Engineering since 1995, serving as Chairman of the Department, Associate Dean for Academic Development and then as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences. “Through his entrepreneurial skill, leadership, and charitable deeds, Aaron Fish has had a tremendous impact on the lives of many individuals including myself,” Perl said, in a videotaped message.

Ernest (“Ernie”) Scheller, Jr.

is a prominent Pennsylvania business leader and philanthropist. As members of the Ben-Gurion Society, he and his wife Roberta have served on the Board of Directors of the AABGU Philadelphia Chapter, of which Ernest is now chair. In addition to funding the Ernest Scheller, Jr. Chair in Innovative Management, the Schellers have generously supported BGU’s nanotechnology research and the Ginsburg-Ingerman Overseas Student Program, in addition to establishing significant deferred gifts. In 2004, they received the David Ben-Gurion Award in recognition of their outstanding leadership and generosity. Incumbent Prof. Amos Drory has held a number of senior positions at the University, including Chairperson of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management,

Dean of the Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management and Dean of the University’s Eilat Campus. Currently, he serves as Vice-President for External Affairs.

“As researchers, we are compelled to understand how innovations and innovative management processes can and are applied in the workplace,” Drory explained. “As educators, we must disseminate this knowledge to our students by using the most appropriate teaching methods. It is our responsibility to prepare them for the dynamic and highly competitive world of innovation.”

Scheller summed up the connection between both families with the well-known anecdote that it is “better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.” This, he explained, is the essence of innovative management.

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Roberta and Ernie Scheller, Jr. with Prof. Amos Drory (left)


“You have to be a special human being to be in social work. You need a good heart and a strong stomach to attend to the needs of the others,” remarked Minister of Social Welfare Isaac Herzog while speaking at the event marking the 25th Anniversary of the Charlotte B. and Jack J. Spitzer Department of Social Work.

Herzog was the guest of honor at “A Celebration of Community Intervention: Engaging the Mind and Soul – Academia in the Community,” saluting the achievements of the Department, together with those of the University’s Open

Apartments Program that marked its 30th anniversary.

Herzog noted that while professional challenges for social workers are great everywhere, they are especially difficult in Israel. “In many ways, the problems are similar to those in every society: sexual harassment, alcoholism, old age and family issues, violence in the community, which are in themselves a major challenge. Add to all that what we have had to deal with since the establishment of Israel: the consequences of the Holocaust, the results of wars,

I Minister of Social Welfare Isaac Herzog Praises Community Involvement

the pain of new immigrants who have just come from Africa or the former Soviet Union, the conflicts between Jew and Arab – all these represent a major burden on our resources,” Herzog declared in his passionate, spontaneous remarks.

“I believe that the Negev poses a major challenge to Israeli society,” he continued, praising the Spitzer Department. “It works within the community, and the projects are extremely interesting and contribute to the success of services throughout Israel.”

Herzog congratulated the Board of Governors and the University, “for showing vision and leadership in this field. It has changed the lives of so many people in Israel.”

Since 2001, the western Negev development town of Sderot has suffered ongoing attacks of Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Two University faculty members Dr. Orit Nuttman-Shwartz, a member of the Charlotte B. and Jack J. Spitzer Department of Social Work, and Dr. Dror Zeevi of the Department of Middle East Studies shared their experiences of living and working in the area.

Chair of the Department of Social Work at the Sapir Academic College, Nuttman-Shwartz related how she entered her office the day after one of the College’s students, Roni Yihye, had been killed when a Qassam

I Sderot: A Personal Viewpointrocket exploded in a parking lot on the campus. “My office was a chaotic mess, fragments of glass and plaster covered the room. All the windows had been shattered,” she related.

“What would have happened if I hadn’t had enough time to run away, or if I hadn’t heard the siren? I mustered the courage to look out of the window and saw the big hole in the ground left by the Qassam rocket, right where Roni was killed.,” she told the audience.

Nuttman-Shwartz related the ongoing dilemma of whether to continue teaching in this situation, and how a shared traumatic reality impacts

student-faculty relationships. “We expect the instructor to lead the class, but sometimes the students show more courage and deal with the stressful situation in more adaptive ways than faculty members,” she admitted.

Zeevi, an expert in Middle East Studies moved to Sderot a few months ago from Tel Aviv where he had an easy, culture-filled existence. “I felt that there was such a gap between my life and theirs,” he said.“I was living in a bubble in Tel Aviv and the people in Sderot were suffering these missiles everyday. I felt that there is something wrong here. This is the same country, the same people.”

“I was astonished to see how strong everyone was. I figured I’d find miserable, unhappy people, but actually they helped me more than I helped them,” he explained. He said that he discovered what it means to be living under the constant threat of rockets. “First of all, if you have kids, think about them going out to play, worrying about them all the time. What if you’re having a shower, and you have 15 seconds to find shelter. What if your building – like half of the structures in Sderot – doesn’t have a shelter or a safe room?” Zeevi pointed out that businesses have suffered greatly and expressed hope for an improved situation in the future.

Minister of Social Welfare Isaac Herzog

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“Israel is a dream come true, and therefore, it has a touch of disappointment about it,” remarked Israeli writer,Prof. Amos Oz, in his keynote speech at the Opening Plenary Session of the 38th Board of Governors Meeting. The internationally-acclaimed writer explained: “The only way to keep a dream rosy and intact is never to try to live it out. This is true not only of creating a nation. This is true of writing a novel, planting a garden or living out a sexual fantasy. This is not about the nature of Zionism; this is about the nature of dreams.” Oz, incumbent of the S.Y. Agnon Chair in Contemporary Hebrew Literature established by the German Associates, has been teaching in the Department for Hebrew Literature for over 20 years.

Israel was born of many conflicting and sometimes mutually exclusive dreams, he pointed out: the recreation of

the biblical monarchy, a petit bourgeois middle European society where everyone is polite, a Jewish shtetl, or a Marxist paradise to which one day even Stalin would come for a visit and die of happiness to see this perfect Socialist state. “What has become of all these monumental dreams?” he asked. “Some are still struggling, some have died, and some have been taken for granted. On the surface, we have something that the early founders and Herzl never dreamt about. What we actually have here is a very Mediterranean country. Along the coastal plain where 80 percent of Israelis live, it is hedonistic, noisy, warm-hearted, materialistic, bursting with energies, but with painful pockets of poverty and exclusion, but nonetheless, a Mediterranean country.”

Oz went on to describe the

urgent existential problems that he believes must be solved in order for this “golden age” to continue, detailing his outlook for peace in the region. He also addressed what he referred to as a “question of life and death”: the renewal of “social solidarity” within the state.“In Jewish shtetls in Eastern Europe there was misery and poverty and suppression, but not starvation and illiteracy. In Israel today, there are pockets of hunger and pockets of dehumanizing poverty,” he decried. “This is the urgent business of the State of Israel, of Israeli society, to renew this

social solidarity.”

The following day, Oz received an honorary doctorate from the University. During his remarks, he noted that the “University has been my home for 22 years” and that in many ways, receiving this honor was almost “incestuous.” But, he said, of all the honorary degrees that he has received, this one “is closest to my heart. This is a family recognition.”

To see the keynote speech online, click to mms://karish.bgu.ac.il/bgu-academic/amos_oz.wmv

I Prof. Amos Oz on Israel at 60: the Conflict of Dreams and Reality

Prof. Amos Oz

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Leonard and Dorothy Wasserman from Philadelphia received an unexpected surprise while on the Marcus Family Campus: their children and grandchildren donated a public bench in honor of their 60th wedding anniversary.


Eric F. and Lore Ross of the USA were present at the dedication of the Eric F. and Lore Ross Atrium for Community Action. Moderated by Chair of the Department of Politics and Government Prof. Fred Lazin, the ceremony highlighted the University’s exceptional involvement with the children of the surrounding community. The Ross’ were very touched by the photo album presented by the children of Perach and Community Action Unit that included hand-written thank

you notes.

At the dedication of the Eric F. and Lore Ross Lecture Hall in the Ruth and Heinz-Horst Deichmann Building for Health Professions, moderator and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences Prof. Shaul Sofer described the mission of the School and the purpose of

the Hall. Participants had the opportunity to tour the facilities at the Leon and

Mathilde Recanati School for Community Health Professions.

Eric F. and Lore Ross with Prof. Shaul Sofer (left) and Prof. Rivka Carmi

Abraham Ben David Ohayon and his children Dan and Laurence

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The Abraham Ben David Ohayon Behavioral Sciences Complex was dedicated in the presence of benefactor Abraham Ben David Ohayon and his family of Geneva, Switzerland. The special guest was Nobel laureate and former BGU lecturer Prof. Daniel Kahneman and the guest of honor was MK Prof. Avishay Braverman. Esther Halperin spoke on behalf of the Swiss Associates.

Designed by Israeli architect Alex Meitlis, the building includes more than 3,000 square meters and a covered courtyard. The facility serves the needs of the Department of Psychology, housing laboratories for human

I Abraham Ben David Ohayon BehavioralSciences Complex Dedicated

behavior research, offices for faculty and administrative staff and lecture rooms and includes a 380-seat auditorium.

During the ceremony, former Chairman of the Department of Behavioral Sciences Prof. Avishai Henik and his former mentor Kahneman recalled the early days of the Department. Kahneman spoke about teaching at the young university that used old store fronts as classrooms.

“They were structures built to be grocery stores, and those were our classrooms,” he said, adding that “there was always something special about the enthusiasm here, a sense of pioneering and warmth that

I don’t find in many other places.”

Kahneman, one of the founders of the branch of behavioral economics and a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002, called the Department of Behavioral Sciences “first-

class,” nothing that “what has been accomplished here at BGU is almost unbelievable.” Addressing Ben David Ohayon directly, he commented,“I think you chose very well in choosing to build this magnificent building on this beautiful campus and in this extraordinary place.”

I University Celebrates Eric F. and Lore Ross’ Heartfelt Commitment to the Community



A model for an agreement on environmental cooperation was unveiled at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR) during the Board Meeting. “This event reflects the continued commitment of BGU and the BIDR, not only to academic excellence, but also to reach out to societal needs of Israel and it neighboring countries,” said Director of the Blaustein Institutes Prof. Avigad Vonshak.

The agreement was created by Prof. Alon Tal, a member of the BIDR and Dr. Mohammad Said Al-Hmaida of Bir Zeit University. Tal is a long-time environmental activist who founded the public interest advocacy group Adam Teva V'din – the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, while Al-Hmaidi is a past Director-General of the Ministry of the Environment of the Palestinian Authority.

Recognizing the proximity of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples and the critical importance of protecting transboundary resources, Tal and Al-Hmaida initiated this cooperative project

I Creating an Environment for Peace

that spanned several months of research and negotiations. The ambitious project was undertaken in consultation with international environmental legal experts and peer review teams of Palestinian and Israeli experts.

According to Tal, the agreement would encourage joint management over shared resources. “For example, Palestinians and Israelis would both be directly involved in the physical planning of areas on both sides which are adjacent to the borders. Israel would have a say in the sewage treatment strategy in the Palestinian sector – which directly affects our water resources, just as the Palestinians would have access to monitoring of Israeli

air pollution sources that are transboundary and impact their air quality.”

The model agreement has been submitted to Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Palestinian negotiating team on the environment.

The event also included a panel presentation focused on “Transboundary Environmental Research” by students from the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies (AKIS). During the past year, three Palestinian and 10 Jordanian students have joined the School’s international student body that includes over 150 students from 25 different countries. The students spoke about their environmental research projects that have a regional impact.

The following students and a recent graduates presented their research: Samer Eid, a biology teacher from Ramallah, spoke about his project on air pollution patterns and exposures, comparing measurements in east Jerusalem and west

Jerusalem, a project that is part of a multi-lateral “MERC” research grant with Jordanian and Palestinian partners.Suleiman Halash, an electrical engineer from Amman, aspires to establish the first solar power company in Jordan. His research assesses the effectiveness of different solar technologies in the conditions of the kibbutzim in the Arava. Sawsan Batarseh comes from an agricultural family based in Jarash, near Amman, Jordan. Her research analyzes water and food security in Jordan with an emphasis on drought, food grains and recommendations for contingency planning. Hila Ackerman, an Israeli from Jerusalem, worked with her Palestinian and Jordanian counterparts to assess the stream pollution in the transboundary Zumar-Alexander drainage basin. Immediately upon completing her Masters degree, she was hired as the Director of the Environmental Unit in the Negev Highlands (Ramat HaNegev) Regional Council, where she now oversees environmental regulation in the region.

Prof. Avigad Vonshak

Hila Ackerman makes her remarks while (l-r) Prof. Alon Tal, Suleiman Halash, Sawsan Batarseh and Samer Eid look on

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The Spitzer Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Social Welfare in the Negev was awarded to Ilana Azulai for her work at the Department for Social Services of the Dimona Municipality. Granted by the Charlotte B. and Jack J. Spitzer Department of Social Work, the biannual prize recognizes individuals who dedicate their professional lives to the advancement of residents of the Negev region. The ceremony took place at an international conference organized by the Department

I Spitzer Prize for Social Welfare Awarded

as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations.

Azulay, who received both her Bachelors and Masters degrees from the Spitzer Department, began her work in the field as a neighborhood activist, and according to the University citation, has initiated “new programs for cooperation between the third sector of official social organizations and the population,” and who works continuously to use innovative methods to raise the “consciousness of the needs and rights of special

target populations and those that do not figure prominently on the public and social agenda.” Made possible by the generosity of the Spitzer Family of the United States, the Prize acknowledges the commitment of the Spitzer Department to the development of social services in the Negev.

At the same ceremony, the Frannie Ackermann Prize was awarded to third year student Sivan Russo. The Ackerman Prize was created to honor the memory of the late

Prof. Frannie (Francis) Ackerman, one of the Department’s founders who championed the idea of an activist department that would be integrated in community activities, with full cooperation between field professionals and the academic faculty.

Russo works in the Beer-Sheva Emergency Center, which treats children aged 4 to 12 from dysfunctional families who suffer from severe post-traumatic emotional, psychological or physical injury.

“A newsroom is a newsroom is a newsroom,” explained internationally-acclaimed television host Riz Kahn, describing the demands that all news-gathering organizations have in common. Kahn, one of the founders of the English network Al-Jazeera, was speaking during a recent visit to the Marcus Family Campus, where he gave a lecture on “International News in a Global World” at a lecture organized by the Department of Communications Studies and the Hubert Burda Center for Innovative Communication.

Kahn, who spent eight years at the BBC World and another eight at CNN International, described the difference between the three networks in terms of cars. “Think of the “BBC as a Rolls Royce; CNN

I Making Headlines with Al-Jazeera

as a Ferrari; and Al-Jazeera as a Toyota Previs,” i.e., a hybrid car, he said. “We like to think of ourselves as an ‘international channel with Arab roots’,” he explained, “with an emphasis on covering the developing world.”

He was in the region to produce a series of programs marking the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel, but was also clearly concerned with pitching the Al-Jazeera “brand” to the local audience. “Israel,” he noted, “was the only country in the Middle East that didn’t ban Al-Jazeera [the Arabic-language network] when it was launched.”

He stressed that Israeli politicians are welcome on the network as part of their ongoing efforts to be comprehensive and timely.

The dialogue that comes from open information is good, he said, as it breaks stereotypes. “If you don’t get strong enough voices, you risk being boring.”

Khan is particularly well suited to be the spokesman for the network that has bureaus in four cities; Washington, D.C.; Doha, Kuala Lumpur and London. Born in Eden, Yemen to Indian parents, Khan’s family moved to London when he was four years old. He described the typical English Al-Jazeera viewer as young and internet-based “expatriates.”

“We are the network,” he said,

“for people looking for other voices. We are looking for the truly global audience that is interested in the diversity in the region.”

To watch the full lecture, click to mms://karish.bgu.ac.il/bgu-academic/algezira.wmv

Riz Kahn

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Six outstanding University researchers received the tenth annual Toronto Prize at the Rector’s annual end of the year concert. Established in 1998 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel by the Toronto Chapter of the Canadian Associates, the prize recognizes promising young researchers for their intellectual creativity and laudable achievement. The Prize committee is headed by the Vice-President and Dean for R&D Prof. Moti Herskowitz. This year’s winners are:

I Toronto Prizes for Excellence Awarded Prof. Moshe Sipper of the Department of Mathematics at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, who is a leader in the field of evolutionary algorithms;

Dr. Andrea Berger of the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, who researches the development of attention and the development of numerical cognition;

Dr. Eyal Sheiner of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the

Faculty of Health Sciences, a Fulbright scholar and attending physician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Soroka University Medical Center;

Dr. Hanna Rapaport of the Department of Biotechnology Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, who researches peptides for use in nano-medicines;

Dr. Yaniv Poria of the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Guilford Glazer School of

Business and Management, who explores the operation of heritage sites and other aspects of tourism consumption;

Dr. Ofer Dahan of the Department of Environmental Hydrology and Microbiology at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, who studies problems related to the flow of contaminants to recharged groundwater of aquifers in drylands.

More than 100 alumni of the Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management’s Honors MBA Program (HMBA) attended a recent reunion held in Tel Aviv. The event brought together an impressive70 percent of all of the alumni

of the Program since it was created five years ago.

“While in the Program, we were a very tight-knit group, but following graduation, each of us went his or her own way,” said Inbal Abbou, from

the first graduating class. “We are delighted to be here tonight because we all went through a special experience together and now we can re-establish the connection.”

Vice-President for External Affairs and Head of the HMBA Program Prof. Amos Drory welcomed the alumni. “We initiated the program five years ago with a lot of hope and optimism, and today we stand here facing the

impressive success and fruits of all of our efforts” he said. Dean of the Guilford Glazer School Prof. Arie Reichel and the Program’s Academic Coordinator Dr. Haim Levy welcomed the group and saluted their professional success.

I An Honor to be an Alumni

Proceeds for the evening’s dinner were used to establish a scholarship fund for HMBA students. Drory thanked the participants, noting, “Until now, you all were on the receiving end. It feels good, but I can tell you that being on the giving side is much more fulfilling.”

Reichel expressed his belief that the event will be the first in a series to solidify the creation of an HMBA alumni network. “Our goal,” he said, “is to initiate a program of social gatherings, guest lectures and career placement assistance, that will help graduates to keep in touch and support one another.”

The consensus of the alumni about the event was clear: not to let so much time pass before their next get-together.

Dean Prof. Arie Reichel welcomes the participants

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Researchers from the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management have developed a new hand gesture recognition system that enables doctors to manipulate digital images during medical procedures by motioning instead of touching a screen, keyboard or mouse which compromises sterility and could spread infection.

In the article, “A Gesture-Based Tool for Sterile Browsing of Radiology Images” published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, the authors report on what they believe is the first time a hand gesture recognition system

(Gestix) has been successfully implemented in an actual “in vivo” neurosurgical brain biopsy at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.

According to lead researcher Juan P. Wachs, a recent Ph.D. recipient of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, “A sterile human-machine interface is of supreme importance because it is the means by which the surgeon controls medical information in the operating room (OR) and the other surgeons, therein avoiding patient contamination. This could replace touch screens now used in many hospital operating rooms which

must be sealed to prevent accumulation or spreading of contaminants and require smooth surfaces that must be thoroughly cleaned after each procedure – but sometimes are not. With infection rates at U.S. hospitals now at unacceptably high rates, our system offers a possible alternative.”

Prof. Helman Stern of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management is the principal investigator on the project. He explains how Gestix functions in two stages: “[There is] an initial calibration stage where the machine recognizes the surgeons’ hand gestures, and a second stage where surgeons must learn to implement eight navigation

gestures, rapidly moving the hand away from a “neutral area” and back again. Gestix users even have the option of zooming in and out by moving the hand clockwise or counterclockwise.”

Several BGU M.Sc. theses, supervised by Prof. Stern and Prof. Yael Edan, have used hand gesture recognition as part of an interface to evaluate different aspects of interface design on performance in a variety of tele-robotic and tele-operated systems. Ongoing research is aimed at expanding this work to include additional control modes (e.g., voice) so as to create a multimodal tele-robotic control system.

I New Device Developed that Maintains Sterility during Medical Procedures by Recognizing Gestures

The Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society (CSEPS) organized its second academic study-tour to NATO headquarters, institutions of the European Union and Jewish communities in Belgium and in France in May. The study tour was led by Prof. David Newman and Dr. Sharon Pardo, both of the Department of Politics and Government, and was conducted within the framework of the Centre’s Jean Monnet special course focused on “The European Union, Israel and Jewish communities in Europe,” taught by

I Academic Tour to Heart of European Union

Dr. Sharon Pardo. “This unique study-tour clearly presented a concrete opportunity for BGU students to better understand the traditional links, the cultural values and the economic and security interests that Israel and the European Union share,” he explains.

For five days, 21 students from the Department and from the Pilots’ Academic Program were given the opportunity to be “Israeli ambassadors” to Europe, meeting with senior officials in the various institutions as well as with

European decision-makers and leaders of the Jewish communities in Brussels and in Paris, to learn more about Israeli-European relations.

During the meetings and discussions, the participants were exposed to European institutions and their work methods, their decision-making processes and how both domestic and global European policy is shaped. In a meeting with leaders of the Jewish community who stressed the importance of Jewish-Israeli- European dialogue, BGU participants

learned about the day-to-day challenges faced by European Jewish communities, the problems of anti-Semitism, assimilation and emigration.

The CSEPS views the unique study-tour as important for understanding and enhancing the complex relationship between Israel and the European Union. The tour was made possible by the support of the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the Israeli embassies at the EU institutions and in Paris.

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Twelve exceptional students were recognized for their work in the community with the awarding of the Lubner Prize for Community Service last month. Created in 2007, the Prize honors students who volunteer in the community without seeking or receiving any form of financial compensation and not as part of their scholarship requirements.

As a new addition this year to his honoring the students,

I Lubner Prize for Community Service Awarded

Bertie Lubner of South Africa also provide grants to the organizations where the students volunteer.

Dean of Students Ya’akov Afek noted that, similarly to the first year, since all of this year’s candidates were equally deserving, the Prize has been divided among 12 students who volunteer in a wide range of organizations. The prize winners are: Ma’ayan Gerber, who visits babies that have been abandoned by

their parents in the hospital and helps to raise awareness about sexual harassment on campus; Hila Zehavi, Merav Rodovitch and Einat Amir, who train guide dogs for the Israeli Guide Dog Center for the Blind; Eran Buchaltzev, who volunteers in the “Knowledge and Research for High Schools” project to promote intellectual skills of high school students; Moshik Lichtenstein, who advocates for the rights of cleaning and maintenance contract

workers; Avner Kleiner, who works with aging Holocaust survivors; Amit Feldman, who volunteers in the Civil Guard and works with youth at risk to ensure their successful integration into their army service; Noga Rotem, who teaches dance to teenage girls from the Ethiopian immigrant community; Arava Ben-Horin, who volunteers as a counselor for widows and orphans of fallen paratroopers; Yael Trau, who works with disadvantaged families, providing counseling on household finances; and Miriam Fink-Lavi, who works for the Good Neighbors Organization, coordinating volunteers for different hostels for the mentally ill, the mentally challenged, handicapped adults, including those living in senior citizens homes, and in the House on Wheels organization for disabled children and adolescents.

BGU political scientistDr. Yagil Levy has won the Israel Political Science Association Best Book Award for 2008 for his book M’Tzava Ha’Am L’Tzava Ha’Peripheriot (From the People’s Army to the Army of the Peripheries).

The award recognizes “the book which has made the largest contribution in the research field of political science, mainly in politics and

government, public policy, and international relations.”

Levy teaches in the Department of Public Policy and Administration at the Guilford Glazer School for Business and Management, and in the Division of Military and Security in the Department of Jewish History at the Faculty of Pinchas Sapir Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The prize-winning book examines the changes in Israel’s military policies, from the moderation expressed in the Oslo Accords and the unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon, through the Al-Aqsa Intifada, and up to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. It examines the disengagement from Gaza, and the second Lebanon war.

Levy considers how these

upheavals have influenced policies and brings to light the shift in the social composition of the combat field units which had a destabilizing impact on the management of military policy.

The book was recently published in English by Lexington Press under the title Israel’s Materialist Militarism.

I Best Book Award in Political Science for 2008

Recipients of the Lubner Prize (and their dogs) at the award ceremony

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A University- affiliated project placed third in the prestigious Buckminster Fuller Challenge competition. The project was one of two “Runners Up” in the Challenge that fielded some 240 entries from around the world, as a program that supports “the development and implementation of a solution that has significant potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth’s ecological integrity.”

The project, “Promoting the Use of Biogas in Bedouin Villages and Training Bedouin Women Leaders in Environmental Health,” was initiated by Ilana Meallem, who earned her Masters degree from the University’s

I Biogas Project Places in BuckminsterFuller Challenge

Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, and Mazen Zuabi, a graduate student at the Department of Environmental Hydrology and Microbiology at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research. Today, Meallem is affiliated with the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.

The concept for the project to develop environmentally sound methods of waste disposal began with Meallem’s research among Bedouin women in the newly-recognized rural community of Um Batin, located outside Beer-Sheva, and Zoabi’s research in environmental hydrology and microbiology. He is working to adapt self-contained biogas digestor

systems for unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev – a system which has been used successfully in rural areas around the world.

Meallem and Zuabi hope to distribute the digestor system to the local community, while training Bedouin women to operate them. In turn, the training will mobilize Bedouin women as environmental health activists in their communities.

The project has been adopted by University’s Center for Women’s Health Studies and Promotion. According to Center Director Prof. Julie Cwikel, “We see this as a women’s health issue because the women stay in villages, and don’t go out to work

like men do, and therefore they have chronic health problems that are related to environmental exposure that men don’t have.”

In a letter to Meallem and Zuabi, the Buckminster Fuller Institute said that “the jury was very inspired by your entry to the Challenge and the work you are doing with the Bedouin community… We hope that the recognition of your project will bring increased attention, funding, and support to your initiative and further catalyze your important work.”

To watch a video report on the project, click to mms://karish.bgu.ac.il/bgu-academic/The Bedouin Biogas Project.wmv

The diseases collectively designated as Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) affect around one quarter of the world’s population. Together, such diseases as lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soiltransmitted helminths and trachoma cause severe disability in the world's poorest countries, resulting in billions of dollars of lost productivity and high rates of morbidity.

Many of these diseases are caused by intestinal worms.

As part of the worldwide struggle against NTDs, the Faculty of Health Science’s Center for Emerging Tropical Diseases and AIDS (CEMTA) is undertaking a research and treatment program to help eradicate intestinal worm-related diseases in Ethiopia.

In the first stage of the project, to be launched in August, 30,000 people will be treated in three different sites in Ethiopia. This is to be followed by expanding the project into larger populations, eventually

covering the whole country.

CEMTA Director and initiator of the project Prof. Zvi Bentwich believes there is a possible connection between NTDs and the AIDS epidemic in Africa, and that the treatment of NTDs will shed light and have impact on the epidemic in impoverished regions.

“Deworming should also have a significant impact on AIDS, especially considering how little it costs in comparison

to the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,” he says, adding that “It is quite clear by now, that total eradication of all NTDs is achievable and for an extremely modest cost.”

“The University is now joining the worldwide struggle against NTDs,” states Bentwich. The University is partnering with a number of international non profit organizations and the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases Control (GNNTDC) in this project.

I The Fight Against Neglected Tropical Diseases

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I Symposium on Israel at Sixty

“In Israel today, we take for granted what no one could have imagined at the beginning of the 20th century: a country of seven million people with a highly developed economy, despite the fact that there are no natural resources,” declared noted political scientist Prof. Shlomo Avineri in his lecture Israel, Utopia and the Reality, delivered in June at a symposium on Israel Studies. Avineri, the distinguished author and former Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave the keynote lecture at the event to honor Prof. Ilan Troen, who recently retired.

As a way of approaching the Utopian concept, Avineri took as his point of reference Herzl’s famous 1903 novel Altneuland. “It’s worth reading this work every now and then – though it is a dreadful and sentimental work of fiction – to examine what Herzl’s practical vision for the Jewish state was,” Avineri said, adding that “Herzl did not describe a utopian society, but rather as he himself explained, a blueprint for a model society.”

That society would be spiritual and ethical, based on collective ownership and state welfare, while at the same time encouraging private entrepreneurship. “The society in Altneuland is a perfect combination of socialism and capitalism,” said Prof. Avineri. “There would be no need for an army since, in Herzl’s

understanding, the Jewish state could only be created as a result of international agreements. It would have international suffrage; all citizens would be allowed to vote – including non-Jews and women."

Jumping ahead to the reality of Israel in the 21st century, and how it measures up to that Utopian ideal, Avineri said he believes that the greatest achievement of the State of Israel – beyond the existential one – is its preservation of a democratic form of government.

“What are the chances of a country remaining democratic?” Avineri asked rhetorically, “which on the day of its founding is attacked by all its neighbors; that has not experienced a single day of real peace in 60 years; that, though very poor, triples its population within its first three years and increases ten-fold in 60 years; which has a strong army whose military heroes become impressive political leaders.”

That scenario could have developed very differently, he posited. “Some 60 countries have achieved independence since World War Two under similar circumstances, all with the goal of remaining democratic states on the model of Britain or France. With the exception of India, none has managed to do so. They are all dictatorships, communist, fascist, or a combination of all

three,” he commented.

“Ours isn’t a perfect democracy, what democracy is, but” he continued. “It’s still a democracy. I don’t know of another case like this. That's not something that we can take for granted.”

Nevertheless, in Avineri’s view, the Jewish state suffers from two critical failures: one, the failure to achieve an agreement with the Palestinians, “for which we have a partner, and the other, the destruction of the welfare state, for which we have only ourselves to blame,” he opined. The loss of what he termed “the spirit of humanistic solidarity is an issue of basic universal justice. Returning that spirit is up to us,” he concluded.

Many other prominent political scientists from Israel and abroad took part in the symposium honoring Ilan Troen, including Prof. Jacob Lassner of Northwestern University, USA; Prof.

Alan Dowty, Notre Dame University, USA; Prof. Moshe Shemesh, Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism; Prof. Anita Shapira, Tel-Aviv University; Prof. Gabriel Sheffer, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and Prof. Zeev Zachor, a member of BGU’s Department of History of the Jewish People and President of Sapir Academic College.

Prof. Shlomo Avineri

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